In theory, most of want to wait until after the Thanksgiving tryptophan wears off before we start thinking about holiday shopping, but the reality is that shops were stocking candy canes before the clock struck midnight on Halloween. And you probably noticed that, on November 1, your inbox was already swamped with red and green holiday shopping guides, sales, offers and more. So what does that mean? If you own a business and you’re not already talking about the holidays, you’re behind. So, here are 7 quick ways to get on the holiday marketing train. And fast.

Decorate Your Store – Brick and Mortar AND Online

If you want people to be thinking about holiday shopping, you have to set the mood. That means decorating your story – both your brick and mortar store AND your website or Etsy shop, etc. Find ways to make things festive and put great gift ideas right by the door, in the windows, on your landing page, as checkout… whatever products or services you think would make great gifts. By decorating your shop, you’re letting people know your business is in the holiday spirit and they can find a unique gift by shopping with you.

Play Christmas Music

We’ve all stopped, listened and groaned once or twice when we catch holiday music playing in October, but just like with decorating your store, if you want people to feel like shopping for holiday gifts, they need to be in the holiday spirit. Just try to keep it from being too obnoxious – maybe skip the Alvin and the Chipmunks album this year. It’s a classic, but it makes it hard to have fun shopping.

Invite Santa and Offer Giftwrapping

If you have youngsters, you might have noticed that many of the local breakfasts with Santa are already booked… And no one wants the A Christmas Story mall Santa line. If you have a location that makes sense – or if you can partner with another business who does – invite Santa to your shop, offer free gift wrap on items purchased from you that day, give out cookies and hot chocolate and promote like crazy. Everyone wants a chance to see Santa and snap a photo, especially if they aren’t paying $20 a piece or $40 a photo to make it happen. Just make sure you have awesome gift items displayed front and center and have plenty of staff on hand to keep things (like purchases!) moving along throughout the event.

Gift Card Discounts and Bonuses

Whether you decide to give a $5 thank you card to people who buy a gift card or you offer a discount on gift card purchases, people love free money. Just be sure to make it clear that those thank you cards or bonus gift cards are for use on a FUTURE purchase. You want happy customers – not confused ones.

Prepackage Gifts

People are busy and everyone has someone on their list who is impossible to buy for. If you have items in your store that can be sold together as a gift, go ahead and pair them together as gift items. If you can package them together, great, but if not, just displaying them side by side is fine. Make it as easy as possible for people to find your best gift ideas without a lot of time or attention. Get creative on this one!

Entertain the Kids

Families are always overbooked, which means, at some point, they’ll be stopping by your store at a time that might not be ideal for their schedule. No parent wants to drag their kids through your shop when they clearly don’t want to be there. Combat this problem by making coming to your store its own activity. Consider creating a space in your store where kids can color, decorate cookies or make their own holiday cards. If you don’t want to do this every day, think about hosting family days. Even if parents don’t buy something that day (although they probably will now that you gave them two minutes to think), they’ll appreciate the gesture and hopefully come back another day.

Cross-Promote

Your business has friends – the coffee shop up the street, the antiques store around the corner, the pizzeria next door. Find ways to cross-promote with the people in your business network. Even something as simple as a coupon on each other’s registers can get people to walk across the street and see what your business is all about… and what amazing gifts you have displayed in the front window.

Most of my services are delivered through group workshops, but I also provide one-to-one coaching, remote coaching delivered via phone and web, and coaching for special projects, business valuation services and more.

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